SON OF A BLUE-COLLAR family from Bremerton,
Washington, Grayson Capp has a biography
replete with Seattle Pacific history.
His mother, Portia Ruth William Capp,
graduated from Seattle Pacific Normal School
in 1926. His sisters, Lucille Capp McDole and
Joan Capp, are from the Seattle Pacific College
Classes of 1950 and 1960 respectively. Brother
Philip Capp graduated in 1950, and he and
wife Carmena French Capp ’51 became the 1972 Alumni of the Year. Grayson Capp
graduated in 1958, followed by brother Richard Capp in 1965. Daughter Teresa
Capp ’83
and numerous other relatives fill the alumni
family tree.

In 1968, after earning a Ph.D. and completing
post-doctoral work, Grayson Capp joined
the faculty at Seattle Pacific. His wife, Myrna
Youngren Capp ’59, joined the music faculty the same year. Already known for
discovering
Hæmoglobin Portland, the sixth known form
of human hæmoglobin, Grayson Capp traded full-time research for teaching. For
35 years, he
taught students chemistry, organic chemistry
and biochemistry. “You don’t come to SPU for
a research career,” says Capp. “A central emphasis of my work has been to place
students out
in research labs and establish an undergraduate
research tradition.”

Capp also established the Capstone Senior Biochemistry Seminar,
bringing to campus world-class scientists such as Nobel Laureate Edmond Fischer
and David Wong ’61, Prozac co-discoverer and SPU’s 1998 Alumnus of the Year.
With Professor of Biology David Bruce, Capp established the pre-medical advising
program that continues today.

Also known for far-flung sabbaticals, Capp spent
time in Oxford and Cambridge, England, working with experts such as Max Perutz,
recipient of the 1962 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Capp also taught undergraduate
and medical students in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Malawi. His public-health
research involved three Seattle Pacific undergraduates, including a Student
Fulbright recipient.

Even in retirement, Capp plans
to keep teaching. “I’ve been contacted about some one year appointments at universities
around the country,” he says. He’s also received invitations from the University
of Namibia and Rhodes
University in South Africa. He’ll be a visiting scholar at the University of
Cape Town this fall.

Q: As a professor, what have you learned from your students?
Capp: I’ve learned that you never give up on a student. I continue to be amazed
at students who seemed to take a random walk
through life — and then they end up surprising you. Wonderful outcomes are possible
even from
inauspicious beginnings.

Q: If you hadn’t become a scientist and professor, what would you have been?Capp: Maybe a jazz pianist.

From the President
Americans today are searching for a new tone for their lives. “We
are talking here about another set of values — not the giddy sense
of entitlement that emerges out of exuberant times,” says President
Philip Eaton.

A Gift at Any Age
Young alumni are supporting The Campaign for SPU with the Young Alumni
Endowment. They will provide scholarship support to students
engaging the culture. [Campaign]

Like Grandfather, Like
Grandson
On June 7, 80-year-old Sheldon Arnett finally received
his bachelor’s degree from Seattle Pacific. His grandson,
Jeremiah Johnson, earned his SPU bachelor’s degree the
same day. [Campus]

Still ExploringMissionary bush pilot Roald Amundsen ’41 founded
Missionary Aviation and Repair Center (MARC) — becoming an
explorer just like the famous Norwegian for whom he was named. [Alumni]

Second Wind
A marathoner, wife, mother and business alumna, Claudia Shannon came back after tough
times. As a 45-year-old senior, she was on the SPU cross country
team that ranked 14th in the nation. [Athletics]

My Response
After 25 years, Joyce Quiring Erickson, retiring professor of English and
dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, reflects on glossy brown
chestnuts, home and the Promised Land.